If I Didn't Kow Better
by shine4u
Summary: This is about how Derek and Casey have stopped fighting and become friends. Casey has been in an on again off again relationship with Sam for the past three years and Sam is jealous of how close Derek and Casey are... okay i suck at summaries, 1st story
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Life with Derek (well thats obvious) 

The Mcdonald/Venturi household had been unnaturally quiet for the past three years. At first the main reason was that Derek and Casey had somehow stopped fighting. But after that last fight … who could blame them?

'This has to be the worst fight we have ever had' Derek thought as a glass vase flew past his head missing him by millimeters. The vase smashed against the wall; glass and water flew everywhere. "That was glass!" he shrieked in disbelief. 'I've gotten her mad before but she's never thrown glass at me'.

"_I don't care" was Casey's reply. She had no idea why she was so upset. Could it have been the fact that she and Sam had gotten back together two weeks ago and he hadn't looked at or spoken to her since? Derek had to be behind this! He had always had a problem with Casey dating his friends. Panting heavily she said "I was minding my damn business watching TV until you came in here on the phone and stole the remote!" _

_Derek just stood there stunned. ' She just threw a glass vase at me because I stole the REMOTE? What's wrong with her?' then Derek understood. "What's the matter Case?" he asked mockingly with a smirk on his face, "are you sad that Sammy-boy hasn't talked to you in two weeks?" at this Casey faltered. "I wonder why that is," he continued noticing that with every word he spoke she was becoming visibly more upset. "Could it be that he really didn't want to get back with you? You know I was just talking to him on the phone and he said that it was a mistake to get back with you 'cuz you're such a control freak, and no one in their right mind would want to d-" Derek was suddenly cut off by the sight of another vase flying towards him. He tried to get out of the way but this time he wasn't so lucky._

_Casey had thrown the vase in hopes that he would shut up. She never intended the vase to hit him in the head and knock him out. "Oh my God! Oh my God, Oh my God, please be okay, please be okay" Derek wasn't moving and there was blood cascading from his head where pieces of glass penetrated his scalp. "Derek?" she asked faintly "please don't die". She took out her cell phone and called 911. _

_By the time the ambulance arrived so did the rest of the family. "What the hell happened?" asked George as he saw his oldest son on the stretcher being rushed to the hospital. Casey explained everything on the way to the hospital. They sat there for two hours until the doctor came._

"_Mr. Venturi?" asked a tall woman with brown hair and green eyes. She was average height but her heels made her look taller._

"_Yes," said George._

"_Mr. Venturi we have stabilized your son, he has lost a lot of blood but he will be okay."_

"_Can we see him?" asked Edwin hopefully. _

"_No. Sorry you can't, however he has requested to see a Casey McDonald. Is she here?"_

"_I'm Casey McDonald" Casey said shakily. The doctor motioned for Casey to follow and she did. ' I wonder why he wants to see me? He probably wants to kill me' she thought as she walked down the long white hallway in silence. When they finally arrived to his room she stood outside the door hesitantly. After three minutes she finally got up the courage to open the door. "Derek? How are you?" she asked as she looked at him with bandages wrapped around his head._

"_I've been better," he said weakly. She winced at that. " I wanted to talk to you because…because…" this was going to be harder than he thought. He never had to do this especially to her. "Because I want to…" he exhaled "I want to apologies. What I said earlier- before you threw the second vase at me- was way out of line and I'm sorry" _

_Casey couldn't believe her ears. She had sent Derek to the hospital bleeding to death and here he was apologizing to her. "Why are you apologizing? I should be the one apologizing. Derek I sent you to the HOSPITAL!"_

"_Yes. And if I hadn't threatened to blackmail Sam, this whole thing wouldn't have happened." He said matter-of-factly. Noticing her death-glare he quickly said "Look I'll fix it okay? But I think we should agree to stop fighting 'cuz…" he looked around the room then back at her eyes. "Things could have been a lot worse." Then he chuckled and said "And all this over a remote" at this Casey smiled._

"_So…" Casey started uncomfortably. "Friends?"_

"_Friends"_

Ever since that day, Casey and Derek had stopped fighting and became friends. They had moved out of their parents' house and into apartments across town. They would hang out five days of the week. They still had the occasional argument but it was all fun and games. Casey and Sam continued to date and Derek was still single, but he seemed to like it that way. His last few girlfriends were too clingy.

It was mid July when Derek decided to stop by Casey's apartment for a visit. He took the elevator to the third floor and walked down the hall until he found room 105B. He knocked three times and waited. She finally came to the door with her hair-soaking wet. Blue eyes met brown and she smiled. "Hey! What are you doing here? Come in"

"Just stopped by for a visit. Are you busy?" he asked, noticing that she was running around her apartment like a chicken with its head cut off.

"Yes actually I am, me and Sam are going on a date in…" she checked her Cell phone " two minutes, and I have to find the right shoes." She said while heading to her closet. Derek thought it appropriate to take this time to raid her refrigerator. He looked in and all he saw was celery, carrots, tofu and lemon-aid. 'Typical Casey' he thought. "Got 'em," she yelled. "I'll be right out, I just need to blow-dry my hair"

Ten minutes latter she came out in a pink v-neck top with long sleeves and a black skirt. Derek thought she looked amazing but he couldn't tell her that. "So, how do I look" she asked while spinning around to show him the whole outfit.

"Good" he said somewhat defeated. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, but just then someone knocked and he turned his head to the source of the noise and ended up kissing Casey on the mouth.

She backed up with her hand over her mouth somewhat shocked. "What was that about?" this wasn't the first time that he had tried to kiss her. The first time he had tried was on their Senior Prom night. He had told her that he loved her and Sam was no good. All she did was kiss him on the cheek and try to let him down gently. _"Derek, I love you too… but like a brother… I'm in love with Sam. You do understand that, don't you"_ he said yes, so why had he just tried to kiss her again?

"Sorry" Derek said embarrassed. "I didn't mean to kiss you… I just heard a noise" just then there was another knock on the door.

"That must be Sam" she said flustered. She opened the door and there was Sam, ready to go for their date.

"Hey Case! You ready?" he asked, and then he noticed Derek. "Hey bro see you at hockey practice tomorrow?"

"Huh? Uh yeah sure" he stuttered.

"What's with you?" Sam asked.

"Uh nothing I just-" he was cut off by Casey reminding Sam that they had to leave.

"You can stay as long as you like," she said to Derek "I don't have that much food but help yourself. And when you get ready to leave remember to lock up." She turned to Sam and said "Lets go babe" she waved good-bye to Derek and closed the door behind her.

Derek had watched her leave and immediately went to go to the bathroom. He threw cold water on his face and then started to bang his head against the mirror. "Why did I do that I was so stupid" he screamed. ' I dint mean to kiss her I just moved when I heard someone at the door.' He grabbed a towel to wipe his face, then threw on his trademark smirk and said: "Still it was better than any kiss I've ever had."

So what do you think? it gets better (well according to my friend it does and she's almost never wrong). Please R&R this is my first story 


	2. The radio

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek or the song on the radio**

When he came out of the bathroom he decided to sit on the couch and watch TV. He picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. He went through all 177 channels twice and found nothing to watch. He turned the TV off and walked over to the radio. He decided not to mess with it-remembering the last time he did and woke up with his hands glued to his hair- so he left the station where it was. He sat back on the couch not really listening to the music in the background. As he sat facing the window he couldn't help but think of her. 'I wonder what she and Sam are doing right now? She hadn't mentioned going on a date with him last night…' all of a sudden Derek turned his head to the radio; he heard a faint heartbeat and drums.

_I think sometimes I can read your mind_

_When you make things up I can tell you lie_

He chuckled to himself; Casey was a horrible liar, wasn't she? She couldn't even lie about something as simple as forgetting to do her homework. 'The whole family had to be involved with that one'.

_I see the things that your man can't see_

_And I wonder what kind of man is he_

'Sam doesn't deserve her; he doesn't know her like I do! After three years he still doesn't know what her favorite movie is' he thought bitterly. 'Even dad knows her favorite movie is Ella Enchanted or anything that has to do with Cinderella. I wonder if he knows that if she doesn't really want to do something she bites her lower lip…'

_The one who you say is your lover_

_Who you insist takes care of you under the covers_

_And who is there for you and loves you like no other_

"_Case, listen to me. I don't think you should keep seeing Sam." He told her._

"_Why?" she asked looking confused. "Derek, Sam is a great guy and he's your best friend. What's wrong with him?"_

"_Nothing, its just… you broke up with this guy three times before and you keep running back to him every time something goes wrong with your other boyfriends. I just think you should break it off with him…for good. There other guys out there"_

"_Derek,' she said sweetly. "Thanks for worrying, but Sam and me are okay we talked it over, were okay now and I can take care of myself. Don't worry, he loves me."_

"_But I-" he was cut off by a sudden kiss on the cheek._

_Then you kiss and tell me that you _

"I know you care about me Derek, I care about you too. You know I love you…like a brother" she smiled.

_You love me like a brother_

'I was gonna tell her that I loved her. But what was that going to do? She's always loved Sam and she loves me like a brother. That's just FRICKIN' GREAT!!"

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think that you were mine; you're with me all the time_

'We've spent every day together since our last fight. We gave each other keys to our apartments and I talk to her more than I do anyone else in the family.

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd swear we're more than friends; you're touching me again_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think we were in love_

_Girl, do you wanna tell me something_

_Oh, oh, oh_

'I'm so confused! She acts so differently when it's just her and me. She barely even mentions Sam anymore. And when it's the three of us, she doesn't laugh. Or smile. It's just so not Casey. But when it's the two of us… we laugh so hard we cry, she's always smiling and we even get into mock argument so we can wrestle and touch each other.' Then her voice popped into his head _"Derek, don't worry, me and Sam are fine." _ 'If you say so case.'

_I could be wrong about the things you say_

_But I don't rub up on my friends that way_

"So… do you ever do this with Sam?" he asked while panting. He tried to climb off the floor but slipped and fell on his butt. He was covered in both Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream and so was Casey. He looked at Casey laughing hysterically rolling around on the floor trying to catch her breath and shaking her head 'no'. "So you never tried to give him hypothermia in an ice cream fight?" he asked in mock shock.

_When she finally stopped laughing she said: "why don't we take a shower." He looked at her dazed. Thinking that she must have brain freeze from all that ice cream in her hair. "C'mon, its not like I haven't seen one before."_

_After they were cleansed of all the sticky ice cream, they cuddled on her couch and fell asleep._

_You tell me that you've always been a flirt_

_But if it goes wrong, I could get hurt_

"Der-ek" she said softly while cuddling up with him. "You know I flirt right? I don't mean anything by it." She said while twirling his hair with her index finger.

"_So what's this right now? Is this you flirting with me when you have a boyfriend?" he asked anticipating the answer._

"_Yes" she admitted. "We're just having fun right? I… I don't want you to get hurt." _

_But no, you insist it's harmless playin'_

_It's just a part of who you are, that it's just your nature_

_And that it's fine_

_You know I'm a friend, it's really nothing_

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked exasperated. "Why do you keep messing with my head making me think you like me and then you do this!" 

"Do what?" she had a good idea that he was talking about her flirting with him again, but she wanted him to say it.

"_Nothing! That's the problem, you get me all worked up and we do nothing!"_

"_I'm just flirting Derek, I don't mean anything by it …"_

"_Yeah, Yeah I know. Whatever you say Case" he said frustrated._

_You say that I'm just like a…_

_That I'm just like a brother_

"Look I'm sorry," she yelled. "if you want me to stop then I will. I just like getting close to you. I don't want you mad at me"

"_No, no I don't want you to stop"_

"_Then why are you so angry?" _

"_I don't know I just get frustrated when I'm with you and all you do is flirt"_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think that you were mine, you're with me all the time_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd swear we're more than friends, you're touching me again_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think we were in love_

_Girl, do you wanna tell me something_

_Oh, oh, oh_

'We have to be more than friends.' He thought while he gazed at all the pictures on the wall. Pictures from when they still lived together with their parents, pictures of her and Sam at the park, pictures of the two of them at amusement parks. 'We always have so much fun when we're together…'

_My idea of a friend is when you_

_Do a lotta things together and have a lotta fun_

Casey had planned the whole day out, Marti would be out of school at 3:30 so she and Derek were going to go to the amusement park first at 6:17; ride all the rides, then catch a movie at 10 and then go bowling at 12:45. After that they would pick up Marti and go to the Zoo. This had to be the best day of Derek's life; he almost puked five times after ten roller coasters- okay so maybe that wasn't so great- he had won Casey a big blue stuffed bear, with a brown nose and a crescent moon on its stomach. And he had taught Casey how to shoot a basketball. They couldn't say much about the movie because they had both fallen asleep as soon as the pre-views came on. And he had beat Casey by 132 points in bowling. She swore her ball was magnetically attracted to the gutter. And Marti was so excited about seeing all the animals at the zoo. Derek had to save her from some over zealous goats but other than that Marti said the zoo was amazing and Smerek was her hero.

_But my definition of love is different_

_You touch and hold each other_

He began to think back to the night of the ice cream fight, after they had showered and they sat there holding each other. _"You know I'll always be there if you need me right?" he said into her hair as drowsiness began to claim him. "Yeah I know" she replied. He kissed her on top of her head and they fell asleep._

_And you only want to be alone clinging to each other_

_Like you and he should be, but like you and I are_

"Do you have to go?" she pleaded. She had woken up to him getting dressed and ready to leave. "Can't you stay for five-ten minutes… maybe an hour?"

"Shouldn't you be waiting for Sam?" he asked bitterly.

"Right now… I just want to be with you." She whispered.

_Well, I know it sounds crazy but…_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think that you were mine, you're with me all the time_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd swear we're more than friends, you're touching me again_

_If I didn't know better_

_I'd think we were in love_

_Girl, do you wanna tell me something_

_Oh, oh, oh_

'But I do know better,' he thought as he moved to turn off the radio. ' And she doesn't want me.'


	3. The Date

I do not own LWD 

Casey closed the door and she and Sam walked to the elevator. She could tell that Sam wanted to ask her something. It was probably about Derek. It seemed like every time they were together he only wanted to talk about Derek. "What was _that _about?" he said venomously turning his head slightly to look at her.

"What was what about?" she asked quietly while looking at the floor. They made it to the elevator with Sam glaring at her intently.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." He whispered huskily. "But since you want to act stupid," he continued harshly. Casey did not look at him; she kept her eyes on the floor as they descended the levels. "What was the 'You can stay as long as you like, eat my food and lock up when you leave' about" he said in a falsetto voice that was mocking her.

"Look I don't know what your problem is, but could you please stop. Me and Derek are JUST FRIENDS. You always get angry whenever you see Derek at my apartment, and every time were alone and you bring him up your left eye starts twitching!" she accused, hoping to change the subject. She really didn't want to talk about Derek with Sam; he was always a different person whenever Derek was involved. Or any guy for that matter.

"I do not!" Sam said as they exited the elevator. "I don't get jealous and my _left eye_ does not start twitching every time I say Derek's (his left eye twitched three times) name."

"Sam, just let it go." She said as they left the lobby. A few people had stopped to stare at them because Sam was talking so loud.

When they got to Sam's car he did not let it go. Casey could feel his eyes glaring at her while he drove to the restaurant. She kept quiet and looked out the window. _'Another date; another chance for Sam to interrogate me about Derek.'_ She thought sourly as Sam began asking why he and Derek both had keys to her apartment. _'Honestly; it's like he doesn't trust me.' _

After an hour of uncomfortable silence, Sam and Casey finally made it to the restaurant. Sam's bad mood hadn't changed and she was a little apprehensive about starting conversation. "Ah so this is a party of two?" asked the waiter. Both Casey and Sam nodded their heads in agreement as the waiter made a gesture with his elbow, meaning to follow him.

They followed him to a booth at the very back of the restaurant. This side of the room was dimly lit. There were crystal vases in the center with roses in them. Casey had to hand it to Sam; he sure did go all out on this date. This looked like a very expensive restaurant and a quick glance at the prices on the menu proved it. $15.00 for spaghetti with meatballs, $27 for calamari. _'Wow, this is gonna be an expensive dinner.' _She thought as she examined the menu. It turned out that spaghetti was the cheapest item there.

" See anything you like?" asked Sam as he sat opposite of Casey looking at the menu. Hearing no response he said, "I think we should get appetizers, what do you want?" he sat the menu down and stared at Casey who was still looking at her menu.

"Lets see… I think we should get the calamari for an appetizer and I want baked ziti. How about you?" she asked while looking up from the menu. When her eyes finally rested on Sam she noticed he was looking directly at her. "What?" she asked startled.

"Oh, nothing… you just look beautiful tonight." He said while reaching for her hand.

"Just tonight?" she asked teasingly.

"Well, every night, its just I-"

"Hello, my name is Tim and I'll be your server. Can I start you out with anything? Drinks? Appetizers?" he said as he looked from Casey to Sam. When they did not reply, he thought of asking something else. "May I interest you in our specials for this evening?"

"Actually I am ready to order." Casey said as Tim began to list the specials in his head. He quickly got his pen and pad ready to take orders. "We'll start with the calamari, then I'll have the baked ziti."

"Okay, so that's calamari as an appetizer, and baked ziti for the lovely lady in pink." As soon as Sam heard this his expression changed. He was in a pleased mood when the waiter first arrived, but now he was irritated. "And you sr.? What will you be having?"

"I'll have the lasagna." Sam said curtly.

"Ah, and what will you be having to drink?" Tim asked while looking at Casey because Sam's eyes were drilling into his skull.

"Lets see…" Casey said while biting her lower lip. "I think I'll have a cherry 7-up with two cherries."

"You know that drink has a name right?" asked Tim as he wrote the order down.

"Really" asked Casey in disbelief. "What's it called? Cuz I just order it and no one's ever told me."

"It's called a Shirley Temple miss…"

"Casey" she supplied with a smile.

"Casey," Tim said returning her smile. "That's a nice name; I like It." The whole time they were talking, Sam was starring intently at Tim. _'Who does he think he is?' _Sam thought bitterly as they continued to talk. _'Flirting with her, doesn't he see were on a date?'_

"Well thank you." Casey said giggly.

"Okay, so that would be one Shirley Temple. And you sir?" Tim said while looking at Sam who was still glaring at him.

"I'll have a bottle of red wine." He said plainly. Casey gazed at him quizzically but did not say anything.

"Okay so lets see if I got this," Tim started as he repeated the order. "You," he said while pointing to Sam with his pen. "Will have the lasagna and red wine." Then turning to Casey he said: "the lovely lady will have the baked ziti and a Shirley Temple." He turned to see them both nodding then added "will there be anything else for you today?"

"Well… um, you forgot our appetizer." Casey said shyly.

"Oh I'm sorry," he said while checking over his notes to make sure that he did write it down. Seeing Calamari at the top of the list he sighed in relief, then while looking directly into Casey's eyes added "I must have been distracted." Casey giggled as he walked away.

Once Sam was sure Tim was out of earshot he said, "What was _that _about?" in such a rude voice that Casey was startled. She had jumped a little in her chair.

"He was just taking out order." She said shyly, but noticing how red his face got she added "he forgot our appetizer, what did you want me to do not say anything?"

"I was _talking _about you two flirting right in front of me! How can you be on a _date" _when he said the word "date" he used air quotes."With me and flirt with the waiter?"

Just then, Tim came over with the bottle of wine and two wineglasses. "Here you go," he said as he placed the bottle and glasses on the table. "And your Shirley Temple will be out in a minute." He said while smiling at Casey.

As Casey thanked him, she noticed that Sam had filled his glass to the brim and had started to down it. Casey had started to get nervous. She had seen Sam mad before, and she had seen him drunk. But she had never seen him mad and drunk, and with the way he was drinking tonight she knew something bad was going to happen. After he had finished two full glasses of wine in less than five minutes he turned to Casey and said, "You know… while we're on the subject of you flirting with other guys… what was _Derek _doing at your apartment today?"

"He was only visiting. He got there five minutes before you did." She said as Sam filled another glass. She was really starting to get worried, she had seen Sam drink before, and he had a very high alcohol tolerance level. She had noticed that the bottle was three quarters empty.

"Well if _you_ knew that _you _were leaving with _me_… then why did you tell him he could stay as long as he liked?" He asked with a scowl on his face.

"It's Derek; he's not going to stay all night, and I don't have anything he'd want to eat so drop it!" she said defensively as Tim came by holding a tray.

"Here is your Shirley temple," he said while placing the drink in front of Casey. He noticed that the wine was almost empty so he said "would you like another bottle?" he turned to Sam and he nodded. "Okay, so that's another bottle of red wine and your food will be out shortly."

'_Another bottle' _Casey thought in agony as she quietly sipped her drink and ate a cherry. Sam had stopped using the glasses and started drinking directly from the bottle. _'Oh crap, this is gonna be a long night!'_

An hour, five more bottles of wine, and two Shirley Temples latter, Casey and Sam were finishing their date. Casey was irritated because the whole time all Sam did was accuse her of doing things with Derek behind his back. He was so drunk he couldn't stand- let alone walk- straight. "Maybe I should drive back to your apartment." Casey said as they exited the restaurant.

"NO! I CAN DRIVE!!!" Sam bellowed loudly as they made it to his car.

"I know you can drive, but I don't think you're at 100 yet." She said softly trying to calm him down.

"NO I'M DRIVING SO GET YOUR ASS IN THE CAR!"

"Sam I don't think that you should be-"

"EITHER GET IN THE CAR OR YOU CAN WALK!"

Casey quietly got into the car. _'I have a really bad feeling about this…'_


	4. Latter that night

'_Get in the CAR OR YOU CAN WALK, get in the CAR or you can WALK, car or walk, car or walk. WHY DIDN'T I WALK!' _Casey thought nervously as Sam drove down the wrong side of the street. He swerved past four cars and Casey stared out the window in horror as she saw the signal lights rapidly pass by. _'I could always jump…'_ she thought as Sam began slurring something incoherent to her. She leaned over slightly to see how fast the car was going, '_what am I saying? Jump? I can't jump. We're going 145MPH_.' She screamed as Sam barely missed a lady walking her dog. -Had Casey not been in fear for her life she would have wondered who would be walking their dog at this time of night- _'Oh my God… okay I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna jump.'_ She took one look through the back window and saw no one behind them. _'Oh this is gonna hurt…'_ she opened the car door bracing herself for the fall and tried to throw herself out. But she couldn't escape. _'What the hell?' _she wondered as she tried to find the source that prevented her from falling. She looked and noticed that she was still wearing her seatbelt.

"What are you doing?" Sam demanded as he felt the cool air inter the car.

She took one last look at him and undid her seatbelt. She fell out of the car faster than expected. When she hit the ground she scrapped her leg and fell backwards. Her head hit the ground with a loud "Pack" sound; the last thing she saw was Sam's taillights turning red before everything went black.

Dream 

_The room was dark, except for the occasional flash of colored light that came off of the disco ball. Casey looked down at her body; she was wearing a powder blue sleeveless dress with a slit up to her hip and silver sequins down the sides. She was holding a glass of punch and gazing at the dance floor. "Um… can we talk?" Derek asked as he walked up behind her. Startled, she turned around so fast that she almost spilled her punch._

"_Sure. What about?" she asked wondering why he wasn't dancing with his date Milley. 'Wait… I remember this. This is my senior prom! Didn't I just jump out of a car? Wheres Sam? Why am I here?'_

"_About you and Sam." Derek said hesitantly. He was slightly rocking back and forth and to Casey he looked nervous. But why?_

"_Oh not this again" she said exasperated. "I already told you: I love you like a brother. There's nothing wrong with me and Sam's relationship." Casey thought about it, 'that's not what I wanna say! I wanna say: 'He's drunk get him away from me!" she mentally scolded her younger self wondering why she had no control over her mouth._

"_No it's not that." He said quickly._

"_Then, what about me and Sam?" she asked._

"_Look, he's really drunk. And its just…" he trailed off hoping that she could understand what he was saying. Seeing as she looked bewildered he continued. He took a deep breath " He just beat up half of the hockey team for no reason, and if you say anything to him he gets all pissed off. I just… I don't want you to go home with him tonight. He's a different person when he's drunk. I don't think he knows what he's doing and he's starting to get possessive…"_

"_Derek, I'm sure he's fine. So he's a little wasted. We have a limo remember?" she said dismissively._ 'What are you saying? You saw how angry he got when another man flirted with you. Why are you doing this?' she mentally scolded herself.

'_Look! I just don't want you to get hurt alright!' Derek said in frustration. _She was starting to understand that she was reliving a memory. Of all the memories she had of her and Derek talking why was this one so important…

End Dream 

Casey slowly opened her eyes. _'Where am I? Am I dead'_ she wondered as her vision began to clear. She turned to her side and saw a picture of herself sitting down at the beach. _'This isn't my room… this looks a lot like… Oh crap!'_ she was in Sam's room, and if she was in Sam's room that would mean that she's in his apartment. _'How the hell did I get into Sam's apartment?'_ she didn't remember coming here tonight. The last thing she remembered was red lights.

"You're awake." Sam said coldly. Casey stared at him. "You jumped out of my car on the way over here." He was still drunk and she knew it. When she looked into his eyes they were glazed and not completely focused. "Tell me something Case," Then she noticed he was holding a bottle of beer. "Are you scared of me?" he asked casually. She knew she should choose her words carefully because he was even more drunk now then he was when he was driving.

Sitting up from her position on the bed she stuttered "N-n-no" then cleared her throat.

"Liar." He stated. Then he brought the bottle to his lips and drank the last of it. When he was finished he lowered the bottle and made a satisfied "ahh" sound. Then out of nowhere he became angry and threw the bottle against the wall.

Casey shrieked and flinched as she heard the bottle collide with the wall and shatter. "What's wrong with you!" she shouted.

"You shouldn't lie Case!" he said disgustingly while shaking his head. Casey was beginning to get scared.

"I'm not lying" she gulped.

"Bullshit" he yelled. She was starting to recoil into the bed. "If you're not scared of me then why did you jump out of a moving car to get away from me?!"

"I … I …I don't know" she said quietly.

"There you go," he said while shaking his head disappointedly "lying again…"His voice was dangerously low and he was glaring at her. "I was thinking, if you want to see someone else then why don't you… you do want to see someone else right?"

"N-no of course not!" she said while getting out of the bed. "Wh-what would make you say something like tha-that?" she stuttered. She was now staring at him from the opposite side of the room.

"Is it Tim?" he asked coldly. He was staring at her intently and she had a blank look on her face.

"Who?' she wondered.

"The waiter Casey, the waiter." He said impatiently. "You cannot be that stupid you both were flirting right in front of me tonight."

Casey mentally slapped herself on the forehead. 'The waiters name was Tim… oh crap he's really pissed off…' she began to chew on her lower lip.

"It's Derek," he said in a low voice-while his left eye twitched- "isn't it". It wasn't a question. He stared at her menacingly as he advanced on her. Casey was frightened. She ran full speed into the kitchen -ignoring the increasing pain in her leg- but Sam was on her tail. He grabbed her arm forcing her to turn around. "Why are you running from me?" he asked menacingly. "You say you're not scared of me." He said while tightening his grip on her arm, Casey squealed in pain. He pulled her closer as she tried to break free. "Do you really want to see other people?"

Casey stood there in shock. Then out of nowhere, she heard Derek's voice in her head. _'Casey. Sam gets possessive and aggressive when he's drunk. I don't want you to get hurt.'_ Casey thought about it. _'He gets possessive and aggressive… oh…my… GOD!_' When Casey came out of her thoughts she realized that Sam had raised his hand.

"You worthless slut" he shouted as he slapped her.

Casey fell to the floor hard. She began to sob and once she started he kicked and hit her more. "Stop…STOP!" she yelled as he continued to kick her.

"You want me to stop?" he shouted as he grabbed her by her neck and started shacking her. She nodded her head 'yes' and continued to whimper. "If you want me to stop then say it! Say you want to be with me." He yelled. When it took her a while to answer he slapped her hard in the mouth.

Casey gasped as her lower lip busted open and blood gushed out. "I-I'll stay wi-with you," she whispered.

"I didn't hear you," he said in a low voice while still shaking her.

"I want to- to stay with you." She exclaimed hoping that he would stop beating her up.

"Good." He said as he pushed her back down again. "And don't take so long next time. I don't like hurting you, but I had no choice."

Casey laid on the floor crouched over in pain as she watched him walk away, back towards his bedroom.

"COME ON" she heard him yell, then slowly got off of the floor and walked back to his room.

'_I have to get out of here' _she thought.


	5. Getting Away

Casey was wide-awake lying in bed next to Sam at two in the morning. Sam was out cold and had his arm snaked around her waist tightly. She heard steady deep breathing and knew Sam was asleep. '_Okay…good, he's asleep. Now how do I get out of here?_' she thought as Sam inched closer to her in his sleep. Casey frantically looked around the room for anything that could help her escape. She moved around and noticed a body pillow on the floor. '_This might help_' she thought as she tried to inch her way over to grab it. 'Ahh' she mentally screamed. Her body was so sore that it hurt to move. '_Just a little…farther'_ she thought reaching farther and farther down until: '_Got it_.' She pulled the pillow up to her chest. '_Okay…now if I could just move his arm' _she gently lifted his arm and quietly slid off the bed. Sam mumbled something incoherent and Casey feared that he had woken up. She relaxed a little as his breathing started to even out. She quickly placed the pillow under his arm and moved to the other side of the room to find her shoes. The room was dark and she didn't see the lamppost behind her. She accidentally bumped it. On her way to the living room she heard a CRASH '_Oh NO!!_' she thought as she heard Sam groan.

"What was that?" he asked semi groggily. "Case?" he asked as he lifted his head. Casey was half way to the door when Sam noticed she was gone. He got out of bed quickly and walked to the living room. "Where are you going?" he asked disappointedly. Before she had time to respond he said, "Are… are you trying to leave me?" he asked pathetically.

"Uh…" Casey was torn; either tell him the truth and get beat or lie and hopefully he wont notice.

"I'll…I'll get help, I'm sorry I did that to you but don't leave me." He pleaded pathetically.

"I… I…" Casey stuttered. She took a deep breath and said, "I have to go." When she turned to face the door again Sam grabbed her by both wrists.

"You're still gonna leave me?" he asked in disbelief. "After I apologized! You're still gonna leave?" he shouted while dragging her into the kitchen.

"Let…ME…GO" she yelled as Sam stopped in front of a drawer.

"You know what Case?" he asked as he sifted thru the drawer intently looking for something. "I love you to death" he said as he found what he was looking for.

Casey's had the 'deer in the headlights' look on her face when he said that. _'Oh… this cant be good…what am I gonna do?' _ She thought in a panic

Sam now had both her arms trapped behind her back with his left hand. And in his right- Casey saw out of the corner of her eye- was a steak knife. "Do you still want to leave?" he asked as he pressed the blade to her throat.

Casey whimpered. She was trapped and she knew it. "No." she whispered.

"What was that? I didn't hear you!" Sam said threateningly as he pressed the blade harder against her throat.

"I'll stay with you," she said then he pressed the knife harder and she yelled "I'LL STAY WITH YOU, I'LL STAY WITH YOU, just please stop!"

He dropped the knife and hugged her. He turned her around and asked quietly "Why do you make me do these things Case?" he looked at her with mock concern. Not waiting for her to answer he led her to his bedroom again.

Ten minutes latter Casey found herself looking at the alarm clock on the side of the bed. It was only 2:20 AM. Sam was a hard sleeper and had been holding her very tightly since they got into the bed. She sighed '_He's trying to make sure I don't leave, now how am I supposed to get out of here?'_ she thought. Just then Sam shifted in her sleep and released her. _'Oh my God I'm free'_ she thought as she slipped out of bed and put the pillow next to him again.

This time she didn't need her shoes because she was still wearing them. She tiptoed to the front door as quietly as she could. She slowly opened the door and it creaked a little. Thanking God that it hadn't woken him up, she silently closed the door and ran down the four flights of stairs to the lobby. As soon as she hit the night air she started to run to her apartment. It was 2:30 she didn't think the busses still ran this late and she was so scared she didn't even think about calling anyone for a ride.

She ran the twelve miles to her apartment. She didn't take the elevator because it was too slow and all she wanted to do was get upstairs and cry herself to sleep. She didn't want to think about Sam and she really didn't want to see any men at the moment. Finally she reached her apartment and went into the living room. As soon as she got there she noticed the lights in the kitchen were still on '_Derek must have left the lights on when he left.'_ She thought.

Meanwhile in the bahroom

Derek had decided to stay and explain to Casey that he hadn't meant to kiss her. He had it all planned out 'you see Case, when you were moving in to kiss me on the cheek, I heard a knock at the door and turned my head… into your mouth' Derek thought the conversation over and even the truth sounded dumb. But what was he going to tell her? That he had loved her for the past three years, ever since the day she knocked him out with that flower vase and he has secretly been trying to break her and Sam up for the past three years because he did not believe that Sam was the right man for her. That Sam had turned into a real jerk these past few years; telling all the guys in the locker room about what he and Casey do in the privacy of their own apartments.

He had fallen asleep earlier, and when he woke up Casey still wasn't home. "Two fifty-seven" he said as he looked at the clock. _'She must have slept over'_ he thought as he made his way to the bathroom. '_Oh well, now I've got more time to think about what I'll tell her.' _

He had known Sam was an ass after that first college hockey practice when he told the entire team that he had slept with Casey. But he couldn't tell Casey that because he did love her and he knew it would hurt her too much and he didn't want her to cry. 'Okay lets try this again…' he thought. "Case-"

Just then Casey entered her living room. Derek could hear her sobs from the bathroom. He decided to go out and check on her. Her date with Sam couldn't have been _that bad-_but if the jerk had hurt her he was going to kill him-. What he saw almost hade his heart stop. "Case what happened!?" her right eye was slowly turning black and her shirt was torn, she had black and blue bruises down her arms and on her legs, her right leg was scrapped badly and still trickling blood. Her upper lip was busted and bleeding and so was her nose. As Derek looked closer he could see a red handprint on her cheek. "who did this to you?" he whispered

"Derek? What are you still doing here?" she sobbed. _'Damn, I didn't want him to see me like this. I thought he went home! What am I gonna tell him?'_

"WHO DID THIS TO YOU?" Derek shouted. "Was it Sam?" He called after her as she made her way to the kitchen.

"N-no" she stuttered. She couldn't look at him, if she did he would have known she was lying.

"Then who did it?" he asked more forcefully. She was going to tell him who did it and he was going to kill that person. How could they do this to her? How could anyone do this to her?

"It w-was a g-g-guy at th-the restaurant" she said between sobs. Casey knew she was a terrible liar, but she didn't want to know what Derek would do to Sam if he knew.

"WHAT!" he shouted. "Where was Sam?"

"He… he wa-was there" she stuttered. Derek had a hard time believing this as much of a jerk that Sam was he _knew _ that Sam wouldn't sit around while someone beats up his girlfriend. He knew she was lying.

"A guy at the restaurant?" he asked in disbelief. "A guy at the restaurant" he said again. "A guy at the restaurant just came up to you –in front of Sam- and just started beating the crap outta you! You do know how ridiculous that sounds right?" he asked her. She refused to look at him. "Now Casey you are going to tell me who did this to you and you're gonna tell me RIGHT NOW" he looked her straight in the eye and asked her softly "Who did it Case?"

The tears were cascading down her face when she inaudibly said "Sam" and slumped to the floor.

"WHAT!!!" Derek shouted.

"Sam did it," she admitted through ragged breaths "b-but it was- wasn't his f- fault." She said for his defense. "He had been dr-drinking a-and our waiter was fl-flirting with me," She looked down suddenly finding the tile on the kitchen floor more interesting than an angry Derek. "He was just so… angry. He kept asking I-if I wanted to b-be with someone el-else," she gulped. "And I kept saying no b-but he was-wasn't listening to me." She tore her eyes from the floor and turned to look at Derek. "H-he was really drunk and told me that if I didn't get into the car with him I could w- walk." She gulped remembering the look on his face. She started to cry again.

Derek put both his arms around her and made shushing noises. She turned into his shoulder and started to cry. "So what happened next?"

"We were in the car and he wa-was going full sp- speed. And I… I thought, that it would be better if I jumped." She was shaking heavily when she heard Derek gasp.

"You JUMPED out of a moving car?" he asked in disbelief. _'Wow, that must have been _scary' he thought. He was about to ask something else when he felt her recoil in his grasp. He decided to keep quiet.

"I…I blacked out when I hit the ground. And when I woke up I…I..."

Derek didn't think it was possible but she cried harder. "He took me to his house" she stopped to catch her breath. "and he… he…he slapped me and called me a 'worthless slut' then he started to hit me."

"When did you leave?" he whispered.

"I tr-tried one t-time when he was asleep. But he woke up, and that's when he hit me in the eye." She reached her hand up to rub the throbbing eye.

"How did you get out?" he asked. He was getting angrier and angrier as she told him what happened but his voice betrayed his emotions.

"Once I was sure he was asleep, I snuck out and ran." She started to shake violently again and Derek held her tighter. "I ran all the way here."

He stood up and was on his way to leave when he heard "where are you going?" he looked down and she was on the floor rocking herself, dried blood on her face and angry bruises all over her body. Sam was gonna pay for this.

"Me? I'm not going anywhere important, I'm going to go kill him" he said casually.

"Please don't leave," she said quietly "stay with me".

He walked over to her, picked her up and carried her bridal style to the bathroom. He picked up a washcloth, rinsed it, and then started to wipe away the dried blood gently so he wouldn't hurt her. When he was done he picked her up again and laid her down in her bed. He moved to leave again but she grabbed his arm "what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Just… be here" she said. He bent over and placed a kiss on the top of her head, he climbed into bed with her, pulled the covers over both of them and wrapped his arms around her. She curled into him and laid there quietly crying while he held her. After a while she fell asleep.

Derek had waited until he was sure that Casey was asleep before he too fell asleep. He would deal with Sam in the morning, but right now he had to be here for Casey.

**A/N Okay guys thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. This will be the last chapter for a while. I'm going to summer school for a month and my mom won't let me bring my laptop so I'm stuck. ******


	6. The Next Day

Casey woke up the next afternoon feeling strange. She was still sore and swollen but she felt like something was missing. When she reached over to touch Derek, he wasn't there. She stretched her hand out further and still felt nothing. '_I wonder were he went'_ she thought as she noticed the side where Derek had been sleeping was still a little warm. She sat up in her bed wincing as she rose. She turned her head to face her door and noticed it was ajar. She heard a faint sizzle and wondered where it came from. She slowly made her way to the door, and when she did she started to smell something sweet. She walked over to the kitchen and there was Derek, over the stove flipping something in a pan.

"Hey" he said as she sat down on a stool. "I didn't mean to wake you. Thought you might want breakfast." He said as he poured more batter on the pan. Noticing her wincing every time she moved he said: "How do you feel?"

Casey thought about it as she watched Derek put ten pieces of bacon in another frying pan. How did she feel? She was confused for one. She still loved Sam but how could she love someone who treated her like that? Maybe he just needed to get help. That was it; he has a drinking problem, all she had to do was convince him to get help.

"Case? How do you feel?" Derek asked again noticing she had spaced out.

"Huh? Oh, I'm a little sore but I'll live. You know I'm not really hungry. I think I'll go and watch TV." She said while getting up and moving towards the living room. Derek watched her go calling out a "you sure?" as she left. "Positive."

As she sat on the couch watching _Lifetime_ Derek placed a plate of food in front of her. "This is for if you get hungry while I'm out."

"Where are you going?" she asked as he grabbed her coat.

"I have to go to work." He said while putting the coat on. 'And after I go to work I'll pay Sam a little visit. I'm gonna make that ass hole pay for what he did to her. And why is this _coat so tight?!?!_"

"Not like that you're not." Casey demanded. Derek gave her a look that said he was completely clueless as to what she was saying.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're wearing _my coat_!!!" she shouted.

&$#$&$#&

Casey sat up in her bed thinking about what she was going to do about her and Sam. "I'm sure if I go down there and tell him that he needs help he'd understand. He has a drinking problem and doesn't know it. I'll just go down to his apartment right now and talk to him." After she had made up her mind she took a shower, got dressed and left for Sam's apartment.

The drive to Sam's apartment took twenty minutes. And the closer Casey got, the more apprehensive she became. _'Why am I doing this?'_ she thought. _'Why don't I just break up with Sam for good and maybe get with Derek. I know Derek cares about me. But Sam's always been there for me… no he hasn't, Derek has always been there for me. And Derek's never hurt me. Sam's never hurt me either…well except for the few times when he was drunk. But that's why I need to talk to him. It will save our relationship if he just gets help for his drinking problem._

By the time she made it to the door of Sam's apartment she had made up her mind. There was noting wrong with her and Sam. All that was needed to save their relationship was to get Sam help. And after he saw how much he had hurt her of course he would agree._ 'Here it goes' _she thought as she knocked on the door. She knocked five times before he came to the door.

"CASEY!! _WHAT _happened to _you?_" he practically shouted once he saw her. She pushed by him into his apartment.

"You!" she stated. "You're what happened to me." She looked at Sam who stood flabbergasted.

"Casey…I'd _never _hurt you." He said softly. His eyes searched hers to see if she believed him.

"When you're sober." She said, while placing her arms on her hips.

"What?"

"You'd never hurt me when you're sober." She said slowly. "But you were drunk last night. You didn't know what you were doing…"

"What did I do to you?" he asked softly. Casey thought about it, she really did not want to relive what happened last night.

"Look Sam, I don't want to talk to you about this now. But you need help. I think we should take a break for a while…" Casey looked Sam in the eye and noticed he was starting to turn red. "I think you should get help. See a shrink, go to rehab, I don't know… do anything. But I…I can't be with you if you don't get help." She did it. She told Sam, she felt better but a second look at Sam told her she made a mistake.

The look on Sam's face reminded her of the night before. "You're not leaving me!!!" he shouted as he raised his fist and hit her.

Casey was dazed as she hit the floor. She didn't understand why Sam was so upset. It must be something she's doing wrong. She started to cry.

"Oh my God Case… I'm sorry. I…I dint mean to." He stuttered as he saw her on the floor. "What have I done?" he whispered as he watched her crawl up from the floor.

As soon as she was standing he wrapped his arms around her and started apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll get help, I'll do anything just don't leave me." He pleaded. Casey gave in, she could forgive Sam for hitting her again, _'But there's not going to be a third time' _she swore to herself. "So…so we're okay? As long as I get help we're okay." Sam said excitedly.

"Yeah, we're okay." Casey replied. Even though she said it, and as hard as she tried to, she didn't believe it. Some part of her, deep down said that things were not right. Casey couldn't explain it, but the part of her that said things weren't okay, sounded a lot like… Derek.


	7. Derek!

Both Casey and Sam turned to face the door with a start. Someone was on the other end trying to break it down. "SAM!!! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!!" it was Derek. Sam looked at Casey confused. He didn't understand _why_ Derek was so angry. He went to go open the door and as soon as he did his nose met Derek's fist.

"What the _hell_ was that for?!" Sam said while holding his nose up to stop the bleeding.

"Like you _don't know_. How in the hell could you do that to her!" Derek shouted. He was so furious that he didn't notice Casey getting a towel to give to Sam. "Did you think I would let you hit her and get away with it? Are you _that _stupid? Don't you know that I _love _her and would do anything for h- what the _HELL_ are _you _doing _here?_" he asked as he saw Casey rush to Sam's side with a towel in her hands.

"DEREK calm down!!!" Casey shouted as she looked him in the eye.

"CALM DOWN!! CALM DOWN?" he shouted in disbelief. "How can I 'calm down' Case? How can you be over here after what he _did _to _you?_" he looked at her like she was crazy. How can she be back at Sam's apartment after last night?

"Derek, its okay…" she said as she moved around the kitchen table. She didn't like seeing Derek this angry. In fact she had never seen him this angry before. "Can we talk about this outside?" she asked.

Derek thought about it, then slowly nodded his head in agreement. He followed her into the hallway, giving Sam a disgusted look as he passed him. "What's going on Case?" he asked as soon as she closed the door. "Why are you over here?"

"Look, Sam… he didn't know what he was doing last night. He was really drunk, he'd never mean to hurt me." She said hoping that would be enough to convince him to drop it. But knowing Derek, it wasn't enough.

"Weather he meant to or not, he still hurt you Case. And what's that on your cheek?" he asked, noticing a fresh red handprint on her cheek.

"He got a little angry when I first mentioned him getting help. He hit me, but he apologized and said he'd get help. Its my fault really, I should have said it to him in a way where he wouldn't have gotten angry…" she trailed off. Derek just stood there looking stunned at what he had heard.

"Will you listen to yourself?" he practically shouted. "How can you blame yourself for something he did? Casey, you need to break up with him. This isn't healthy!!"

"Derek, we're not breaking up! Now he said he'd never hurt me and I believe him" she shouted as he turned away.

"I'D NEVER HURT YOU" he shouted as he turned around. "I _love you_ Casey… I love you and I'd never hurt you… can't you see that?"

" I do, I… I know. But Derek, I've gotta see if this works with me and Sam." She said. She had a bad feeling in her stomach. She didn't know what Derek was about to do but she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Why?" Derek asked with his back turned to her. "Why would you be with someone who continues to hurt you? Why would you choose him over me? Why would you do that when you know that I love you."

"Because… because…" Casey thought about it. She really didn't have an answer. _'Why do I keep doing this to Derek? Why am I here? Do I really want Sam? I think I do. I've been with Sam since high school. He was the first boy to show any interest in me. But Derek's always been there for me, and I always find myself talking about him at work. And I'm always talking about him…mom always said "you always hurt the one you love". Is that it? Do I always hurt Derek because…' _"Because I love him" she said in shock. She had finally realized her feelings for Derek.

Derek turned around slowly. He could not believe what he had just heard. She loved him. After all the things he's done to her, she loves him. "Fine! Whatever Case. I can't take this anymore. This is all just a game to you. You love him, fine. You obviously don't care about me at all."

Casey stood there stunned. She didn't mean to say that she loved Sam. _'NO, no I love you Derek, I've always loved you.' _She thought. She willed herself to say the words but they wouldn't come.

"That's great Case. And I hope you have a great live with him. I can't do this anymore. Good bye Casey." He said as he turned back around and started to walk away. Casey watched him leave. She stood there stunned processing what he had just said. She couldn't believe it. A life without Derek. At one point in time that was all she wanted. But now that she knew the real Derek, there was nothing more frightening.

She watched Derek enter the elevator. She couldn't breathe. What had she done? The look in his eyes said he was hurt. As the elevator doors closed she fell to the floor and began to cry. Sam -who had been listening to the whole thing on the other side of the door- came out and put his arms around her. "It's okay Casey, he's just angry right now. Give him time to cool off. He'll come around." She didn't want to hear it. She broke free of Sam's grasp and ran towards the stairs.

"DEREK!!!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs. When she reached the front lobby she saw him speed off in his car, away from her. And somehow Casey knew, she just knew that he wasn't coming back anytime soon. That is… it he ever came back.


End file.
